Karyne (00:00:07) - Hi fantasy readers. This is Karyne Norton, your fellow book binger, and you are listening to the Finding Fantasy Reads podcast where you can test out a new fantasy story every single week to find your next favorite author.

Today's story was a learning experience for me. It sucked me in and I got through the whole thing thinking, yes, this will be a great one for the podcast!

But then I paused and said, "wait, where's the magic? Can a story even be fantasy without magic?" Yes, it can. It's called low fantasy, and I never thought I'd enjoy it because, well, every story should have magic, but Street Fox is evidence that I was wrong. It takes place in an alternate world and is a prequel to CJ Brightley's series, Erdemen Honor.

CJ lives in Virginia with her husband and young kids, but somehow she also finds time to make jewelry, teach karate, and bake. I was fascinated to learn that she's just shy of five feet tall, which means we'd look really awkward together in a picture, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

She also claims she would eat bugs over bananas, and I'm curious to know if she would eat any bug over a banana or where exactly she draws the line. I'm not a fan of bananas either, but I will eat them over bugs.

Today's narrator is Paeter Frandsen, host of Christian Geek Central. Stick around to the end or check out today's show notes to see where you can find more from both the author and the narrator, as well as how to enter our giveaway.

For now, please enjoy Street Fox by CJ Brightley.

Paeter (00:01:46) -  Street Fox is read by Paeter Frandsen. Due to copyright, the full transcript of the story cannot be included here. Please go to cjbrightley.com to get your free ebook copy of the short story.

Karyne (00:39:27) - I hope you enjoyed listening to Street Fox by CJ Brightley, narrated by Paeter Frandsen of Christian Geek Central. If you want to read more by CJ, go to cjbrightley.com to find more of her books. While you're there, you can sign up for her newsletter to get a free copy of today's story. Be sure to keep an eye out for her upcoming book, The Silent Prince, which is a gender-flipped retelling of The Little Mermaid, and comes out November 28th.

If you enjoyed listening to Paeter narrate the story, you might also enjoy listening to his podcast, Christian Geek Central, where he discusses movies, video games, and all things enjoyed by self-proclaimed geeks from a Christian worldview.

Don't forget about this month's giveaway, which includes a paperback copy of Heroes and Other Stories, which has Street Fox and two other short stories from the same world, all by CJ Brightley. Go to findingfantasyreads.com/giveaway to enter.

If you enjoyed this story, please consider sharing it with a friend, preferably a friend who would also enjoy this story. There are links in the show notes to make that as easy as possible for you, along with links to the giveaway and CJ Brightley's site.

Thank you all for listening and happy reading.